S&P 500, Nasdaq gain as tech earnings exceed investor expectations

• The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both gained on Wednesday as earnings from Alphabet and Amazon exceeded investor expectations.
• Amazon's Jeff Bezos announced that he would step down as CEO of Amazon and remain executive chairman.
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The S&P 500 and Nasdaq moved higher in Wednesday trades, driven by better than expected earnings from mega-cap titans Amazon and Alphabet.

Both companies exceeded analyst projections for revenue and earnings by a sizable amount, and Amazon posted its first quarter with revenue of more than $100 billion.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced that he is stepping down from Amazon later this year and will remain executive chairman, with head of AWS Andy Jassy replacing Bezos as CEO. Investors didn't seem to mind, with shares up 2% in Wednesday trades.

Here's where US indexes stood after the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Wednesday:

• S&P 500: 3,838.97, up 0.33%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 30,619.34, down 0.22% (68.14 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 13,685.72, up 0.56%

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Alphabet soared 7% in Wednesday trades after fourth quarter earnings revealed a surge in digital ad sales amid the holiday season. The company beat analyst revenue estimates by $4 billion, and EPS estimates by $6.58.

Amazon beat analyst revenue estimates by $5.8 billion, and EPS estimates by $6.96.

The volatility in stocks fueled by a Reddit short-squeeze continued on Wednesday, with shares of GameStop and AMC Entertainment trading higher by 11% and 7%, respectively.

In corporate news, GW Pharma soared 46% after Jazz Pharma said it would acquire the company for $7.2 billion in cash and stock. GW develops treatments derived from the cannabis plant for epilepsy, cancer, and sleeping disorders.

Oil prices rose. West Texas Intermediate crude jumped as much as 1.06%, to $55.33 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, gained 0.97%, to $58.03 per barrel, at intraday highs.

Gold rose 0.3%, to $1,838.90 per ounce.

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